Old Fashioned Romance

I honestly cannot believe this is happening. It feels like someone exchanged my life with an old black-and-white romantic movie, and I play the main character. This whole experience feels so surreal to me. The rain falls outside my window as the train slowly takes me to my destination. My dress is long and pink, and I have a jean jacket to keep me warm. My auburn hair is up in a twisted braid around the bottom of my neck. In the seat next to me, I have a wooden suitcase filled with a weekend amount of clothes, a book, my diary, and my music player. As I said before, it's all somewhat surreal.

I am going to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet the man of my dreams. I am so nervous, we haven't talked very long, but I swear something feels right. Some say that love can happen in an instant and that it can come at any time of the day in any way, shape, or form. I did not believe this to be true. Well, that was until I met him. You see, I have had my ups and downs with complex relationships that were never going to work out from the start, and I hope and pray that I do not mess this one up.

My nerves were so overwhelmed that I asked the tall, brunette stewardess heading toward the back of the train for a cup of hot chamomile tea with milk, my all-time favorite go-to relaxer. She smiles at me and nods, then goes about her business. It takes her about fifteen minutes, but I soon sit back and begin to calm down and drink my tea. There is only an hour left to go. I will soon be looking into the eyes of the man with whom I will be spending the weekend. Who knows, maybe this whole thing is a daydream, and I will soon wake up from it, but I sure hope not. When I see him, I am going to run into his arms. I want to be as close as possible to him. I want to remember his smell; I want to be able to feel his heartbeat next to mine.

It seemed to take forever, but I finally got to the train station. I hear the conductor instructing us on departing rules, and I can feel my heart beating faster and faster. Should I run into his arms, or should I shake his hand first? I might see what he does and go from there. I step off the train and make my way to the lobby. I feel like I can't breathe, but it is in a good way. I slowly push open the door and look up, and oh my god, there he is. My heart stops for a brief moment. He is wearing light brown khaki pants and a light blue collared shirt. His brown hair is swept back to the left, and he has one hand in his pocket, and the other is holding a bouquet of a dozen red roses. Who knew that such a simple gesture could make my heart flutter? We lock eyes, and I feel like someone has turned my life upside down.

I could not stop smiling, but the great thing was neither could he. I’m unsure how long we stood staring at each other, but I did not want it to end. This feeling I had I did not want it to disappear. I have never felt this way before. I thought I did, I mean, I have been on multiple dates before, but I never felt this way toward any of them. Standing here looking into his eyes, I felt at peace, and I felt at home. I swear I already love him so much. I do not want to mess this up. We have not talked very long, but can you captivate me more than you already do? Your eyes are as crystal blue as the sea, and the blue collared shirt you're wearing makes them stand out even more; they are so beautiful.

There was an old saying I remember, “If you fall in love with someone, fall in love with their eyes. Their body may change, but their eyes will always be the same as when you first fell in love with them,” and I can already tell I’m going to be in love with those eyes forever. I swear they are so clear that I can look into his soul. Seeing him here now, I can see the future. I can see us. Forever. I want to be wrapped up in his arms and bury my head in his chest whenever I want to. I want to feel his heart beating in rhythm with mine.

Holding him when upset would not be a burden but the utmost pleasure. I want to be the one to comfort him on his bad days. Me, not anyone else. I want to fix him cookies and hot tea. I want to be the one to fix him messy, sleepy breakfasts and serve dinners by candlelight. In my dreams, I am the one he lusts after. I am the one he wants. A house in the mountains with lots of kids and a couple of animals is the life I imagine. I have not ever fallen this hard before. I love you, which is not easy to say because I have never felt love. I know my whole world stops when I see his name on my phone and that my entire world has flipped, standing here looking into his eyes. My breath escapes me when I see his pictures on my phone. I feel so lucky, so privileged; I feel like a queen. I hope I am good enough for him and that I am all you will ever need. I am, after all, a shy, old-fashioned kind of girl. I want to be with him forever. I like his last name to be the name I sign when asked for mine. He is perfect, and he makes my world stop. Now here he is, walking toward me, and I toward him. He tells me he hopes I had a good trip and is so glad to see me. His hand goes around my waist, and we look into each other's eyes.

Is he going to kiss me? Here, right now, in front of all these people. Honestly, I do not care. He starts to lean in, and time stands still. Is this moment happening to me? I tilt my head so my lips can meet his, and then it happens. We are standing in the middle of the train station lobby, kissing each other. Everything is all hustle and bustle, yet we were frozen in time. This moment will forever be in my memory as if someone snapped a perfect polaroid picture of us, and to think it all started with a small message that was nothing mere than a compliment, but it brought us here, so it was perfect.

THE END